“A soft answer
turns away wrath, But a harsh
word stirs up anger.”
~ Proverbs 15:1
This morning after my normal Bible study time, I felt God telling me to read more of His Word. Since I wasn’t sure what He wanted me to read, I just prayed that He would guide my hands to open up the Bible to the spot which had the wisdom I needed to hear today and for the knowledge to understand His Word. I do this quite often and each time I am amazed at the fact that almost every single time I am led to something that applies to my life at that moment.
I have been struggling with my words lately. I know that my words have the power to bless or to curse. I know that I need to improve my self control when it comes to the issue of how I respond to situations that are less than perfect. I have been praying for God to give me the strength to overcome my natural tendency to fight back with words when I’ve been hurt and to show love and compassion instead.
He lead me to Proverbs 15 today and I didn’t get past the first verse. “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Wow, exactly what I needed to be reminded of today. Not only do I need to apply that to my every day life, but I’m pretty sure I will be put in situations today that will require it more than ever. I’ve already started formulating response to comments I am sure to hear today and I have to admit that most of those responses are full of sarcasm and harshness. God gently reminded me today that I need to put aside that sarcasm and answer gently. The thing with sarcasm is that the words aren’t necessarily “a harsh word”, but the tone of voice and the meaning sure are. As the footnote in my Nelson Study Bible says, “Often it is not so much what we say but the way we say it that prompts such varied responses as acceptance and wrath.”
Lord, please hold my tongue today when I’m tempted to answer harshly. Keep me from saying unkind words. May only words that uplift and comfort come forth from my mouth today. Use me to bless others and not curse.
i needed that too! i had a less than perfect day today, and my boys "heard" about it. ugh.
ReplyDeletei raised my voice to them harshly. it was not pretty. i asked for forgiveness. but i need to catch myself before i lose control in the first place.